In a world of growing travel trail bikes, Bianchi has refocused on the basics with a new affordable carbon XC hardtail 29er to complement their elite Methanol race bike. The new Nitron means to deliver much of the same performance for amateur cross-country and marathon racers at a more attainable pricepoint.
Bianchi Nitron carbon 29er XC race hardtail
The new Nitron looks somewhat similar to the Methanol hardtail, with a more boxy carbon frame, but actually updates that bike with more trail ridability and modern geo paired with 100mm Boost forks with fork lockouts at every spec level. Based on feed back from Bianchi’s pro mountain bikers, the new carbon hardtail now features internal dropper post routing, although it sticks with a 27.2mm post and complete bikes won’t spec a dropper.
Trail-adapted Race Geometry
Its fit also delivers a much more capable trail-ready ride, adopting modern trail geometry adapted for XCO & XCM racing. For an XC racer, the Nitron is relatively slack with a 69.5° head angle. It also gets 1.4cm more of reach and a steep effective seattube to make the new bike both more stable on rough tracks and more planted when climbing. The new 29er still gets properly short 429mm chainstays in what should be a solid all-rounder.
Tech Details
The Nitro uses a full monocoque frame construction with carbon dropouts and a fixed high direct mount front derailleur tab (with Sideswing-only routing).
It is said to utilize Bianchi’s expertise in optimizing carbon layup like found on their most expensive bikes. But it does drop their premium vibration-eating Countervail tech to keep production costs down. The bike features a tapered headtube, Boost 148 spacing, and a BB92 bottom bracket.
The new carbon 29er hardtail comes in the same four sizes (S-XL) as the elite bike. It is available in three finishes – team edition celeste, black with celeste & red with black – including color matched RockShox forks & WTB wheels. It will be offered in a number of 1x and 2x complete bike builds, including a SRAM GX Eagle 1×12, Shimano XT mix 2×11, and Deore 2×10 to hit all budgets. No finalized pricing or set availability has been announced.
